Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Technical Affairs
By Mike Aamodt, Associate Editor
This months column answers a readers question about O*NET, followed by a piece of HR Humor.
Question
I understand that O*NET has replaced the DOT. Is
there actually much difference between the two?
Answer
The Occupational Information Network (O*NET) is a
national job analysis system created by the federal government to replace the Dictionary of Occupational Titles
(DOT), which had been in use since the 1930s. O*NET is
a major advancement in understanding the nature of work,
in large part because its developers understood that jobs
can be viewed at four levels: economic, organization, job,
and individual. As a result, O*NET has incorporated the
types of information obtained in such job analysis techniques as the Fleishman Job Analysis Survey (F-JAS), Job
Components Inventory (JCI), and the Position Analysis
Questionnaire (PAQ). A comparison of the information
obtained in O*NET and the information obtained in selected job analysis methods is shown in Table 1.
O*NET includes information about the occupation
(generalized work activities, work context, organizational
context) and the worker characteristics (ability, work style,
occupational values and interests, knowledge, skills, education) needed for success in the occupation. The O*NET
also includes information about such economic factors as
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continued page 16
February 2002
____________________________________________________________________________________________
F-JAS = Fleishman Job Analysis Survey
TTA = Threshold Traits Analysis
JCI = Job Components Inventory
JAI = Job Adaptability Inventory
PPRF = Personality-Related Position Requirements Form
PAQ = Positional Analysis Questionnaire
JEI = Job Elements Inventory
ABILITY
Cognitive Abilities
Verbal abilities
Oral comprehension
Written comprehension
Oral expression
Written expression
Idea generation and reasoning abilities
Fluency of ideas
Originality
Problem sensitivity
Reasoning
Deductive reasoning
Inductive reasoning
Information ordering
Category flexibility
Planning
Decision making
Combining information
Quantitative abilities
Mathematical reasoning
Number facility
Use of length, distance, size, weight
Memory
Perceptual abilities
Speed of closure
Flexibility of closure
Perceptual speed
Spatial abilities
Spatial orientation
Visualization
Attentiveness
Selective attention/concentration
Time sharing
Psychomotor Abilities
Fine manipulative abilities
Arm-hand steadiness
Manual dexterity
Finger dexterity
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JCI
_____
JAI
_____
PPRF
_____
PAQ
_____
JSP
_____
JCI
_____
JAI
_____
PAQ
_____
JSP
_____
PPRF
_____
continued page 18
February 2002
WORK STYLES
Achievement orientation
Achievement/effort
Persistence
Initiative
Social influence
Energy
Leadership orientation
Interpersonal orientation
Cooperative
Concern for others
Social orientation
Tolerance
Friendliness
Sense of humor
Interest in negotiation
Adjustment
Self-control
Stress tolerance
Adaptability/flexibility
Adaptability to change
Adaptability to repetition
Adaptability to pressure
Adaptability to isolation
Adaptability to discomfort
Adaptability to hazards/emergencies
Interpersonal adaptability
Cultural adaptability
Problem solving adaptability
Resilience
Conscientiousness
Dependability
Attention to detail
Integrity
Personal appearance
Work ethic
Independence
Practical intelligence
Innovative
Analytical
February 2002
continued page 20
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February 2002
Technical skills
Operations analysis
Technology design
Equipment selection
Installation
Programming
Testing
Operation monitoring
Operations and control
Product inspection
Equipment maintenance
Troubleshooting
Repairing
Electrical/electronic
Mechanical
Tools
Map reading
Drafting
Reading plans
Driving
Typing
Shorthand
Filing
Spelling
Grammar
Computer programming
Craft knowledge
Craft skill
Systems skills
Visioning
Systems perception
Identification of downstream
consequences
Identification of key causes
Judgment and evaluation
Systems evaluation
Resource management skills
Time management
Financial resource management
Material resource management
Personnel resource management
F-JAS TTA
JCI
JAI
PPRF
PAQ
JSP
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
continued next page
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February 2002
HR HUMOR
A rural police department was conducting a structured interview for the position of patrol officer when Gomer Pyle
walked in. The interview panel first asked, What is one and one? to which Gomer replied, 11. Though that was
not what the panel was looking for, they concluded that his answer had some merit and awarded him three of the five
points.
The interviewers next asked, What two days of the week start with the letter T? Gomer replied, Today and
tomorrow. Again, it was not the top answer but they had to admit he was right and awarded Gomer another three
points.
For the final question, the panel asked, Who killed Abraham Lincoln? Gomer thought for a minute, and then
replied, Im not real sure. Because Gomer was the only candidate, the interviewers told him to go home and think
about it.
On his way home, Gomer stopped at the barbershop to speak with his friends. How did it go? they asked. To
which Gomer replied, It must have gone well. It was my first day on the job and Im already working on a murder
case! AC N
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February 2002